Abbott eyes mandate to dump tax

Mr Abbott told the forum to ''never underestimate people power'' and that if enough pressure could be applied to Labor MPs, the legislation could be stopped from going through Parliament in the first place.

Carbon tax bad for buses: O'Farrell

Schools, hospitals and other services would also suffer, he said, as the NSW government was set to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends from the state's mainly government-owned black coal power generators, which have been denied compensation for the tax they will pay.

"It could take up to half of the dividends provided by the state energy companies to state government," he said.

Selling the carbon tax: less is more - The Drum Opinion - Julia Gillard should have stayed in bed this week, for all the good her carbon tax campaigning did. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

the prize for best-stunt-of-the-week goes to the other Brisbane woman who bailed up Julia Gillard and demanded to know why she had lied to us. Her two minutes of fame are likely to be remembered long after the other sideshows have faded from memory.

The encounter highlighted Gillard's continuing problem in the trust department, the issue that cruels the pitch every time she talks about climate change policy.

The encounter killed Gillard's message for the day and also showed everything that grates about her.